Every person that decides to live the RVing life (either weekend warriors, or full-timers) has a decision to make: choose the right RV!
But how do you know which one is the right one for you? I mean, you can do all the research on what to consider when buying RVs and all the different types of RVs, but at some point, you’ll have to bite the bullet and buy one!
I have a few suggestions. They aren’t perfect suggestions, but maybe it will give you some ideas and help ease your mind.
*DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate sales links. If you choose to purchase from these links, it will not cost you anything extra, and I will earn a small commission from each sale FREE TO YOU! Thanks for helping support this blog!
CHOOSE THE RIGHT RV – VISIT RV SHOWS
One of THE VERY BEST ways to choose the right RV is to go and see all of the possibilities.
Just do a Google search for RV shows near me and you should be able to find one in or near your area. Arkansas is not the most populated place on the planet, but we have roughly 3 different RV shows throughout the year.
If you have a ballpark figure of how much you want to spend, you can often see many different choices within your price range.
You can often find the best prices of the season at RV shows as well, or at least some kind of bonus to hook you on that purchase TODAY!
We actually found ours at an RV show MONTHS before we were ready to purchase! If you read the linked article above on what to consider when buying RVs, you can read that story.
VISIT SALES LOTS
Another great way to choose the right RV is to visit sales lots. This is somewhat of a less desirable option to me because you will almost always have a salesman following you around.
When it comes down to it, RVs are all pretty simple (yes, even the fancy ones)…there’s a bed, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a dining room. We don’t need someone to point these things out to us…it’s fairly self-explanatory! 🙂
The positive of going to sales lots is that they often have every type of RV available, so you’re able to see a wide variety of RVs all in one place.
Another great pro to visiting a sales lot is that they often have used RVs available to purchase. Someone else bought last year’s model and decided to upgrade. Their loss is your gain!
Plus, if you mention you saw them at a local RV show or saw special pricing at a local RV show, they might extend the discount to you when you purchase!
BORROW A FRIEND’S RV
When you’re trying to choose the right RV, consider borrowing a friend’s.
I know, not everyone has a friend with an RV…but a lot of you do! We actually had 3 sets of friends who were RVing before we bought ours.
One set of friends invited us to come camping with them at a local state park. We brought our tent with every intention to set it up and sleep in it, then they invited us to just stay with them in their 2016 Grand Design Imagine. HECK YEAH!!!
Another friend of ours allowed us to use their SUPER LUXURIOUS 2015 Itasca Class C RV for a weekend. Oh, BABY…it was NICE!
We LOVED the size of that one but just didn’t like uprooting camp every time we wanted to go to town. We’d DEFINITELY need a tow car for that one. The Class C was FABULOUS though for ease of driving, parking, and gas mileage.
There was one more set of friends that had a stationary 5th wheel RV set up in an RV park where they paid an annual fee. It was an option for us to use it on a weekend they wouldn’t be there, but we never did.
You might be surprised to learn who you know that has one already. Ask your friends on Facebook or at work or church. I’m willing to be that most people know at least one person who has an RV.
RENT AN RV
To me, renting an RV from a company like RVShare.com is BY FAR the best option when you’re trying to choose the right RV. Why?
Well, it frees you from the liability of using a friend’s RV, as well as the fact that it allows you to live in the space for however many days you choose.
When you rent, you’re able to try that specific RV on for size. You can see if you like towing or driving, the small living space, the specific layout, the tiny bathrooms and kitchens, camp life, etc. All of these are hard to imagine if you’ve never done it before.
You can rent all different types of RVs, even if you don’t have a truck to tow one. You can often negotiate a deal with the person renting to tow it where you’re going (if staying local).
If you do have a tow truck, you can either rent one to take with you or have one ready when you reach your destination.
The cost of renting per night is often less than that of a night’s stay at a hotel and would really be less expensive than buying the wrong RV!
Of course, the fact is most people really don’t know what they want when they are trying to choose the right RV. That’s why there are often PLENTY of used RVs at an RV sales lot.
We knew when we were buying ours that it wasn’t our forever RV, but it was a GREAT first RV and will last us for YEARS to come.
QUIT THINKING ABOUT IT!
I’m aware this sounds silly, but most RV owners that I know mulled it over and over and over! At some point, you’ve just got to narrow it down and choose!
If you know what your budget is and you know which one sounds good (and you’ve read a TON of reviews), it’s just time to pull the trigger and buy it!
It can be a HUGE investment, I know, but even if you end up not loving the layout or something else bugs you about the one you buy, you can still enjoy using it for a while before you have to sell it.
Look at it as a learning experience. Figure out what you do and don’t like!
Do you have your RV yet? What are you waiting for, share it with me in the comments!
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